FAMU student: Law school is "rotting from within"

FAMU administrators won't turn over student complaint letters regarding professor and legal writing director Victoria Dawson, but The Gradebook has obtained several, including this one recently sent to incoming President James Ammons. This is what this student had to say about Dawson, whose error-ridden working paper (see story here) has caused a stir:

"On the very opposite side of the spectrum, there are professors, whom I will not name, wherein I am absolutely baffled they are able to teach any grade level, much less the law school level. It is a sad testament to our school to hire professors who are unaccomplished and although they were born and raised in the United States, can barely structure a sentence in the English language. How are we to trust our professors with teaching us the important subject matter we need to sit for the bar and effectively practice law when they cannot speak or write basic English? These professors have never been admonished for their intellectual inadequacies, instead, they seem to have been promoted."

The student - who asked to be anonymous for fear of retribution - lists other problems, including "numerous appearances of impropriety, favoritism (and) blatant violations in proctoring," but also says the school has "many incredible professors" who "constantly give their students the tools they need to be not only successful attorneys, but successful citizens as well." The student tells Ammons the College of Law is "rotting from within" and begs him: "Please try with all your might to correct the atrocities taking place in our school, your school, before it becomes too late." See the full letter here: Download FAMUletter.doc .

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.